Fresh snow ushers out ski season for most resorts

SNOWBIRD — Fresh snow covered the mountains Sunday on what was the last day of skiing for most of Utah's resorts.

Only Alta, Brighton and Snowbird will remain open, with Brighton closing April 22, Alta closing April 29 and Snowbird yet to announce a closing date, Jessica Kunzer, director of communications for Ski Utah said. It's almost guaranteed, though, that Snowbird won't be open until July 4 as it was last year — a record year for snow in the state.

"This year has been a very different season than last year," Kunzer said. "We've had slightly below our average snowfall, but still had a fair amount of visitors coming. Some resorts were busier over the holiday than they were last year."

Kunzer said the Utah ski season has seen consistent positive growth since the Olympics in 2002 and that this year was still a great year for skiing. Sunday's snow illustrated that.

"This is a fantastic way to end the season," Kunzer said. "Soft, fresh Utah powder is a great way to remind yourself of what will be coming again in about six months."

Bryn Ramjoue of Salt Lake City, who was hitting the slopes at Snowbird Sunday, agreed.

"This is a great closing weekend, because we got some fresh snow this week," she said. "It's snowing a little bit today and that makes for good conditions."

Ramjoue said that it was a good year for skiing, even if it did get off to a late start. It was a year full of "bluebird days" with clear skies and fresh snow.

"It was a good season if you are a skier," she said. "The air is fresh and the other skiers are fun, good folk. It's a great sport. There is no bad season. There is always going to be great skiing in Utah."

Chris Fuoco, of Utah Ski and Golf, said those who ski Utah — especially the locals — are spoiled by all of the great snow the state has to offer. He said this was a good year, just not as good as last year.

"The numbers, I can tell you, have definitely gone down quite a bit," Fuoco said. "We've noticed a lot of people from out of state not coming in."

Last year, 783 inches of snow fell at Alta. This year, it was 369 inches. Kunzer pointed out that that is still a really good year for snow.

"If there's one thing that this season has absolutely proved, it's that even a bad year in Utah is a good year everywhere else," she said.

Kunzer said she wouldn't be surprised if Snowbird remained open into May.